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One of the people I follow on Twitter, Steve Wheeler (@timbuckteeth), had written an interesting piece on the way that pedagogical theory has not kept up with the changes in technology. He writes that pedagogical theory is still wedded to the image of sage-like professor disseminating knowledge to the student-acolytes. He makes the case that in a world in which knowledge is so easily discoverable, the professorial lecture is no longer the source of all knowledge. The role of the professor needs to changes.

Steve’s ideas mirror my own thinking. As teachers we need to transform into being guides and mentors to students’ self discovery of knowledge. This is why I think that MOOCs are not the future of teaching. They are about content delivery and, sometimes, assessment. A MOOC is unable to deliver the mentoring and guidance necessary for a student to develop their knowledge.